Abstract
BackgroundEarly differential diagnosis between acute bacterial and viral meningitis is problematic. We aimed to investigate whether the detection of lipocalin 2, a protein of the acute innate immunity response, may be used as a marker for acute bacterial meningitis.MethodsTransgenic mice expressing the human transferrin were infected by intraperitoneal route and were imaged. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was sampled up to 48hours post- infection to measure lipocalin 2. We also tested a collection of 90 and 44 human CSF with confirmed acute bacterial or acute viral meningitis respectively.ResultsLipocalin 2 was detected after 5 h in CSF during experimental infection in mice. Lipocalin 2 levels were significantly higher (p < 0.0001) in patients with confirmed acute bacterial meningitis (mean 125 pg/mL, range 106–145 pg/mL) than in patients with acute viral meningitis (mean 2 pg/mL, range 0–6 pg/mL) with a sensitivity of 81%, a specificity of 93%, a positive predictive value of 96% and a negative predictive value of 71% in diagnosing acute bacterial meningitis.ConclusionsIncreased levels of lipocalin 2 in cerebrospinal fluid may discriminate between acute bacterial and viral meningitis in patients with clinical syndrome of meningitis.
Highlights
Differential diagnosis between acute bacterial and viral meningitis is problematic
We aimed to explore the detection of lipocalin 2 (LCN2) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as a marker of acute bacterial meningitis
Two groups of 7 and 8 BALB/c female mice were infected intraperitoneally by colony forming units (CFU)/mice or CFU/mice of the strain LNP24198lux respectively and 3 uninfected mice were used as controls
Summary
Differential diagnosis between acute bacterial and viral meningitis is problematic. We aimed to investigate whether the detection of lipocalin 2, a protein of the acute innate immunity response, may be used as a marker for acute bacterial meningitis. Acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp), and Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) are the most frequent agents of ABM. Other agents are incriminated in infants such as Streptococcus agalactiae and Escherichia coli K1. ABM is a medical emergency and requires immediate management that relies mainly on appropriate and prompt antibiotic treatment. The major differential diagnosis of ABM is acute viral meningitis (AVM) that does not require antibiotics and are usually of better prognosis. Laboratory confirmation requires lumber puncture and analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Etiologic diagnosis of ABM is performed by culture and non-culture
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